A procurement adviser has stepped down from Lord Carter’s review into NHS efficiency, due to an issue over reimbursement for Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust.

Andy O’Connor, the FT’s head of procurement and corporate social responsibility, was seconded to the Department of Health in June, but Lord Carter confirmed to HSJ that he has now left the project.

He said: “I think there was a question of how the trust was reimbursed for his services [by the DH]…. It’s a bit above my pay grade.

“He was excellent for us, he brought great understanding to the project and he was a practical operator.”

HSJ contacted Countess of Chester about the issue, but the trust did not respond.

Mr O’Connor was appointed after the review’s initial findings suggested that the FT had already achieved significant procurement savings.

His exit follows the departure of two senior members of Lord Carter’s team in the summer – Stuart Dailey, who led the development of the draft adjusted treatment index, and Rob Knott, who led the NHS procurement development programme.

Jeremy Marlow, former head of strategy for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was brought in as the review’s director of productivity in July.

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